An all-party parliamentary report discussing the emergence and use of new psychoactive drugs 'legal highs'. Considers the approaches used by other nations and benefits from the input of over thirty organisations. While the focus of this report is on psychoactive substances, it does acknowledge that the legal framework dealing with traditional drugs has profoundly affected the patterns of psychoactive substance use.

The report concludes that, in aming to reduce the harms associated with these substances, criminalisation is not only ineffecticve but also causes additional harms. The harms identified by the report for the criminalised drug user include homelessness, unemployment and relationship problems, as well as a huge cost to taxpayers.